Crimes of the Carolinas

Murder Runs in the Family

What are the odds that three brothers from the same family would commit the exact same horrific crime? In this spine-chilling episode of Crimes of the Carolinas, hosts Shellie Taylor (Iredell County’s local history librarian) and Dottie (technical services maven) unpack the disturbing, real-life saga of the Wall family. Between 1944 and 1949, a dark shadow fell over Iredell County, North Carolina, as three brothers—Ralph, Russell, and Jay Wall—each ended an argument by shooting and killing their wives. The community was left reeling. Was it a supernatural curse? A bizarre hereditary sleep disorder? Or was it chillingly calculated? But the mystery doesn't end with a string of tragic murder-suicides. Years after Russell Wall supposedly fled into the rural North Carolina woods to turn the gun on himself, whispering rumors began to trickle back to the sheriff's office: Russell might still be alive. Join Shellie and Dottie as they dig through the archives to trace an incredible multi-state manhunt, an undercover FBI operation, and a boastful stranger in an Alabama bar that blew a historical true-crime case wide open. Listen now to uncover how a local tragedy spawned a national investigation, and decide for yourself if it was fate, a curse, or pure malice.

The Woman in the Well

Join us as we dive into the Westmoreland murder case with special guest Chris Stonestreet.

Murder, Trains, and Social Injustice Part 2

Hosts Shelly and Dottie of Crimes of the Carolinas are back with the conclusion of a two-part case set in Salisbury, North Carolina. The episode focuses on the theory that the brutal Lyerly family murders were the work of a train-hopping serial killer active during the time period. Learn the full theory, possible connected cases, and suspects.

Murder, Trains, and Social Injustice Part 1

Hosts Shelly and Dottie of Crimes of the Carolinas introduce a two-part case set in Salisbury, North Carolina. On the night of July 13, 1906, at Barbara Junction, Isaac Lyerly (68), his third wife Augusta Barringer, and two children, nine-year-old John and five-year-old Alice, were beaten to death in their home, which was also set on fire. The episode focuses on how the investigation quickly became a racially driven “witch hunt,” placing suspicion on nearby Black sharecroppers Jack Dillingham and wife Della and the Gillespie family amid North Carolina’s post–Civil War backlash against Reconstruction. 00:00 Welcome Back 00:56 Friday the 13th, 1906: The Lyerly Family Murders at Barbara Junction 02:23 Addie’s Discovery 04:29 From Investigation to Witch Hunt 06:09 Reconstruction to Backlash 13:11 Propaganda & the Press 19:58 The Grandfather Clause: Literacy Tests, Poll Taxes, and Disenfranchisement 24:43 1906 Fallout Begins 26:48 Media Narratives and Finger-Pointing 27:17 How Early News Framed the Lyerly Girls’ Escape 28:28 Sympathy vs. Suspicion 30:40 Arrests After the Murders 34:49 Defense Warnings, Officials’ Pleas, and a Growing Mob 39:14 The Lynching and Propaganda 44:54 Aftermath and Reckoning 48:58 Alternate Suspects & What’s Next

Brother Against Brother

In episode three of the Crimes of the Carolinas, we delve into guerrilla warfare in Western North Carolina during the Civil War. This episode explores the guerrilla tactics used by both Union and Confederate sympathizers, the strain on small mountain communities, and how political divisions and familial loyalties created deep-seated bitterness and violence that continued well into the Reconstruction era.